The Sewing Escapade
by gwkitty
Summary: Relena has been told to take a vacation. Normally a busy woman, she doesn't know what to do! So, by a friend's suggestion, she's going to try to tackle a sewing project! It should be easy, right?


AN: Hiya!! I wrote this today!! I was inspired when I realized I only had one fic that was gundam wing and the rest were all Kenshin. Ah well, I hope you enjoy this!! 

Disclaimer: Standard Disclaimer Applies.

The Sewing Escapade

She never had free time. It was quite intimidating, actually, to have all this time and nothing to do.

Oh, she had some free minutes or so, but they had always gone so quickly. No, she had been ordered to take a week's vacation from her duties as the Vice Foreign Minister and it was day number two. Only five more to go. She sighed.

It was ironic really. The busy pacifist couldn't find anything to entertain herself with. So she had called Hilde for suggestions. Her friend couldn't think of anything beyond the confines of cleaning or working. So Relena called Noin next but her brother's wife was not home. Then she called Sally.

On several occasions the female doctor had proven to be wise and very helpful with advise. Especially when Relena needed it most. And Relena really needed it now. She had resorted to twiddling her thumbs, after trying to watch television and getting frustrated with the over abundance of commercials, and then reading, but she grew tired of that quickly because she did it quite enough while working.

Sally suggested doing something that Relena had never done before and that was to sew or knit something. It seemed like a rather interesting pursuit and it would keep her preoccupied.

So she gathered her purse and closed up her apartment and left, all ready to attain the required materials to sew.

She arrived at the local arts and crafts shop, parked in an isle a little off to the side and had to walk all the way to the entrance. Which was fine by her, she needed the fresh air and the walk and to feel normal for a change. One should never get too accustomed to all the luxuries that could be taken from one at any given time.

The door opened automatically, sliding to the side as Relena approached it and an aroma of freshly cut wood and spices pleasantly surrounded her. She took in a big whiff of it and proceeded to head further into this unknown terrain.

The store was very promising in that it held almost anything imaginable for any pursuit in the crafts. From these little white balls, to fake flowers that looked almost real, to picture frames and posters, and miscellaneous scrap-booking things. Relena looked down an isle and took in all the paints and brushes stocked, then took a few steps forward and saw blank canvasses and big sheets of paper. Finally, she found the sewing section and let loose a breath of relief.

She walked down the isle and looked at the needles.

"Well... I guess I need some of these..." She poked at a package that conveniently held more than a few different sizes of needles. It looked good to her so she shrugged and quickly removed the package from the rack.

"Okay!" She walked further down the isle and came across thread.

"Yes, I need this too. You can't sew without thread..."

There were many different colors. Which to choose?

Out of the corner of her eye, a red blur appeared and then formed into a person wearing a red vest. The person happened to be a lady who worked for the store. She was smiling.

"Are you finding everything satisfactory, Ma'am?" Relena smiled and nodded. The lady smiled back and then nodded before bubbly turning around. Relena's eyes darted back to the threads and then back to the retreating lady.

"Wait!" She called. The lady turned around and came to her side.

"I don't know what to get."

"Well, what are you planning on sewing?" Relena stared blankly back at the lady who just asked her a very pertinent question. What _was_ she sewing? She hadn't thought about that. Now that she was, it did seem to play a pretty big role in this whole process.

So she answered like any well mannered, experienced politician would.

"Ummm...."

The lady smiled and took Relena by the elbow.

"We have several books on patterns. They are all located over here," she gestured to a couple tables on which there lay scattered book thicker than any novel she had ever read. Her eyes widened as she sat mechanically at the closest table.

"Did you have anything in mind?" The lady provided. Relena shook her head. The lady 'ahhed' and then opened a book nearby, sliding it across the table to place it in front of Relena.

"Well, you could make a blanket, that's relatively easy for a first timer." Relena nodded. A blanket. That _sounded_ easy. Yes!! She was going to make a blanket.

"There are some easy patterns here," the lady informed as she turned the pages and showed Relena the wide variety of blankets available. As the pages were turned, a blanket caught her eye and she politely stopped the lady.

"I would like to make this one." She peered up from the page at the lady and finally read her name tag for the first time. Deborah.

"Would you help me with everything, Deborah?" The lady smiled genuinely and nodded her assent.

"I most certainly would. First things first. The pattern!" She briskly walked over to the file cabinets that Relena never noticed were sitting behind the tables and she searched for one, then pulled a drawer open and plucked a paper folder from it. This she handed to Relena and gestured with her hand for Relena to follow.

"Now, we pick out the material."

Relena looked down at the pattern resting in her grasp. How did it all fit in this little folder?? All those directions?

Then again, she'd never read any directions for any patterns before, so how would she know? Silly Relena, she berated herself.

They entered the area designated for fabric and Relena was taken over by the excessive amounts of fabrics laid out for the taking. Silk, polyester, cotton, it was all there. And there were solid colors, and some fabrics with extricate designs on them. Oh boy...

"May I see the pattern please?" Relena handed her the folder and waited as Deborah read the back of it.

"Okay, this calls for this type of fabric right here," she indicated by waving at the fabric behind her. "You need...ten feet..." She read aloud as her eyes skimmed over the words printed on the folder. Relena sized up the potential fabrics she might buy for her blanket. A forest green popped out and snagged her vision. She reached for it and felt it's surface. Soft...

"That's a great color," Deborah said, handing Rlena back the pattern and she turned the fabric upside down and moved some of it aside to look at the bottom, where the price was located.

"Okay, 11.89 for a yard. Do you want this?" Relena nodded.

After another twenty minutes of finding two other essential fabrics for her pattern, Deborah was helping Relena pick out thread and needles.

"Do you own a sewing machine?" Relena fumbled around for an answer and Deborah smiled.

"Okay, I will show you the ones we have on stock."

Finally. Relena was back in her car and ready to go home. She had spent a good portion of her day in the store. She released a small laugh and then turned the engine on. It roared to life and she reversed out of her parking spot. It was a small parking lot, but filled with cars. This store must be popular, she thought.

Once she arrive home, it took her three trips to take everything from her car inside to her apartment. After it was all neatly placed on the floor in her living room she just took some time to stare down at her purchase. It had cost a good amount of money but she rarely ever did anything like this.

She rubbed her hands together, rearing to get to work on this. She took the pattern in hand and took them out of the folder they were neatly placed into. After unfolding them and placing them on the floor, she squinted at them.

After about ten minutes of boiling water, and then another five to make and let her tea cool, Relena was sitting on her couch sipping her tea just staring at the pattern on her floor. She hadn't touched it again.

It looked confusing!

Wasn't this suppose to be easy?!

Argh! Okay, just take a deep breath...

An hour later Relena hadn't gone any further than removing her materials from the plastic bags they had been placed into when she had bought them.

"I'll call Sally..." The beeping of the numbers as she punch them into her phone were the only sounds in her living room. The phone rang and then someone answered.

"Help!!!!" Just as soon as the word left her mouth, the line went dead. She held her breath.

That had been odd. She replaced the phone, and stared at it. That wasn't a normal response was it? Okay, okay. So normally she wouldn't start off any conversation like that, but this wasn't a normal thing. This was a vacation. Vacationing wasn't normal for her. And sewing wasn't either.

She reached for the phone again and almost had the whole number pushed in when her door busted open and a certain gundam pilot appeared, worried and stressed and tense. But he visibly relaxed once he assessed the situation and realized that there was no immediate danger. Then, anger surfaced.

"What the hell, Relena?!" He growled. She very calmly replaced her phone on the hook and then took a deep breath.

"I was just wondering if I could get some help." She blinked. He blinked. Then he shook his head.

"With what?" She moved aside to reveal her problem.

"Hn."

The machine sounded oddly fascinating as it was brought to life by the push of a foot to a pedal placed on the floor underneath it, connected to it by a cord. The most fascinating thing about the sewing machine working was that she was not the one using it. This sent her into shivers.

Here was the great soldier himself, sitting at her kitchen table, concentrating on thread and fabric. It invoked giggles, giggles of which she could not contain and soon she had the same soldier staring at her over his shoulder, not amused.

"I would cease and desist if you would not wish me to leave." His voice settled her bought of giggles and she calmed.

"I apologize, Heero. It's just that, never in all of my dreams did I envision you like this!" His eyebrow arched at this proclamation.

"You dream about me?" This was like ice on a fire. She froze and her eyes became wide.

"Erk, uh...no. Well, yes. You see, involuntary." He was standing now, facing her, all serious, all focused on her.

"Involuntary dreaming." He stated, while taking a predatory step towards her. Her heart began to race and she gulped. His eyes were so sharp. His scent...so...inviting. She gulped again.

"Well, you know. I didn't ask for you to be in my dreams. You're just kind of ... there."

"Oh?" His tone sounded slightly amused now. She was beginning to get irritated with how he was reacting. Couldn't he tell that she wasn't comfortable?! And what was the deal with looking so...

Oh dear...

His face was inches from hers now. She shivered with every exhale that she felt from him. To be so close now, after all these years, it seemed farfetched. She closed her eyes and waited, feeling his presence grow closer to her.

He reached behind her to grab some more thread and then turned away. She opened her eyes to see his back was turned towards her and she felt very disappointed. Ahh well. That'll teach me, she thought.

"Maybe I should start checking your meals, if you are not getting the required rest you need. Sometimes dreams are the result of-" He was interrupted by a pillow from the couch hitting him on the head. He ignored it and continued with the sewing.

Her eyes were becoming sore and dry. She clicked the button again and found this channel no more interesting than the previous one. And what was with all these commercials?! She decided to write a bill concerning the excess of irrelevant commercials on the television once she got back to work.

She sighed. She kind of missed working. At least she had something to do. She looked over to the kitchen. He was still going.

She changed the channel again and decided that sewing hadn't been a good idea. Tomorrow she was going to try something else. Something that Heero couldn't take over.

She decided to close her eyes for a bit, just to rest them, and her head drooped slightly.

An hour later she awoke with a start. Something was off. She looked around dazedly and decided that everything looked fine. It was then that she realized there was no "bizzing" from the sewing machine. She went to get up when she realized something else. There was a blanket wrapped around her.

She grasped it in astonishment and then smiled as she snuggled into it. It was perfect, even if she hadn't made it herself.

"Well, now that everything is okay again, I'll be going." A low voice caught her attention. She could just make out his form by the door. She smiled and nodded, knowing that he could see her in the dark of the room.

"Okay." She waited for him to leave but he just stood there. She frowned and walked over to him.

"Is something wrong?" He just stared down at her. Then, he tenderly cupped her cheek.

"I dream about you too..." His voice was husky and soothe, and she leaned into his hand.

"Do you?"

"And it is voluntary." She smiled and reached around to hug him, wrapping them both in the completed blanket.


End file.
